Chapter 585: Himeko’s Roses, A Song for Her

"Since my suspicions have already been cleared, I’ll be taking my leave. There are still plenty of interesting places in this city I haven’t visited yet. Himeko, how about recommending a few attractions to me?"

"Unfortunately, you still can’t leave."

Himeko shook her head. The way she looked at Elias was no longer as relaxed as before. He was a powerful individual who could effortlessly defeat a professionally trained B-rank Valkyrie like her.

His strength was absurdly overwhelming. Himeko even felt that he might surpass Lady Kallen Kaslana, the strongest S-rank Valkyrie in Schicksal’s history as personally acknowledged by Overseer Otto.

Moreover, Elias’ identity was unknown, and she had no idea what organization he came from. Therefore, even if he was not the culprit behind the vampire incident, Himeko still couldn’t simply let him leave.

"Hehe, Himeko, do you really think you can stop me? Let me tell you the truth. As far as this world is concerned, I’m invincible. Want me to split Schicksal’s floating island in half to prove it?"

Elias eagerly constructed the Judgment of Shamash.

"N-No! There’s absolutely no need!"

Himeko broke out in a cold sweat as she stared at the enormous flaming sword blazing before her. Its terrifying heat seemed capable of setting the entire world ablaze, and she couldn’t help wondering just what kind of monster she had brought back today.

But as a Valkyrie who protected world peace...

No matter how dangerous it was, she couldn’t retreat!

Himeko’s mind raced frantically. Finally, just as Elias was preparing to leave, she called out.

"You said your only purpose here is tourism, right?!"

"Mhm~ Nothing else."

"Fine. Then if I report you, headquarters will definitely send a lot of people to make contact with you. At that point, you probably won’t be able to continue your vacation in peace, will you?"

Himeko’s legs trembled as she said this. She felt that she had probably gone insane to actually dare threaten this white-haired young man.

How much did a B-rank Valkyrie even earn in a year? Did she really need to risk her life this much? Uh, wait, Valkyries actually were paid pretty well... but no amount of money was worth courting death like this!

Elias raised an eyebrow. That certainly would be troublesome.

However...

"No matter which version of you it is, you’re always this brave. Himeko, aren’t you afraid I’ll silence you right now?"

Elias asked with great interest. At the same time, he casually chopped downward with his right hand, yet the simple motion sent a chill down her spine.

"...I don’t think you will."

"Oh? Why?"

"No particular reason. If I had to say... a woman’s intuition. I don’t think you’d hurt me."

Himeko took a deep breath and forced herself to remain composed as she spoke.

It was an utterly baseless intuition, yet the fact remained that from the moment Elias had made contact with her until now, he had never released even the slightest killing intent toward her. Not even when he had been angry earlier.

The difference in their strength was unquestionably like heaven and earth.

Himeko knew perfectly well that to the white-haired young man before her, she was probably no different from an ant. And yet... he seemed far too tolerant toward this weak little ant.

Elias froze upon hearing that answer.

Then the corners of his lips curled upward, and he couldn’t help laughing.

"Haha~ All right, all right. Your intuition is exactly right. I won’t hurt you. No matter what happens, I will absolutely never hurt you, nor will I allow you to be injured."

"Huh? W-What did you just say...?"

This time, it was Himeko’s turn to stare at him in bewilderment.

Never in her wildest dreams had she expected Elias to say something like that. Her intuition told her he wasn’t lying, but without context, anyone hearing those words would probably assume something had happened between the two of them!

The Himeko of this bubble world was only nineteen years old. Unlike the Himeko from the proper world, who was mature in every sense, this Himeko was still an innocent and inexperienced young woman who had never even dated before.

Faced with such a direct strike from Elias, Himeko’s heart immediately gave a violent thump, and two patches of red appeared on her cheeks.

After all, its destructive power was simply too great!

Elias’ charm, much like that of a certain Miss Pink Elf, had always been completely maxed out. It was practically impossible for anyone not to like him.

"W-What did you mean by what you just said?!"

"Exactly what it sounded like~ I like Himeko Murata. Unfortunately, the person I’m talking about isn’t you. Even so, I still won’t allow her bubble world counterpart to suffer any harm."

Elias patted Himeko’s fragrant shoulder as he spoke. From a certain perspective, they could be considered the same person. Incidentally, with that brief touch just now, Elias had already healed every hidden injury in her body.

Schicksal’s artificial stigmata came with enormous side effects. The more a Valkyrie used them, the more they shortened her lifespan. According to the original story, even without the "Final Lesson," Himeko wouldn’t have lived past thirty.

But before the Herrscher of Rebirth, that was hardly a problem~

"Oh, right. Even though I just said all that, I don’t really care if you report me to Schicksal. After all... worst comes to worst, I’ll simply alter the consciousness of everyone who knows about me."

"Y-You can even alter consciousness?!"

"That’s right~ So if I wanted to, I could manipulate your mind, Himeko, and make you forget everything about me. I could even make you believe you’re my lover and obey my every command. It wouldn’t be difficult at all."

Elias spoke with complete honesty. He had no intention of hiding his power in a bubble world that posed absolutely no threat to him.

After all, the point of concealing one’s strength was to scheme against enemies. Since he was invincible in this world, what harm was there in showing off once in a while?

"Then why don’t you do that..."

Himeko trembled slightly all over. She realized she had still severely underestimated Elias’ strength and immediately raised his danger rating to the absolute maximum in her mind.

"Hehe, didn’t I already say I won’t hurt you?"

"..."

"So don’t bother trying anything against me either, Himeko. Anyway, that’s that. I’m going back to having fun now. Bye-bye~"

"W-Wait!"

"...Even I have limited patience, you know."

Elias crossed his arms, a hint of impatience appearing between his brows.

"I wasn’t finished just now. Your power is dangerous, so in order to prevent any accidents, I intend to keep watching you. And I also want to ask you to help me investigate the vampire incident..."

Himeko grabbed Elias’ hand and spoke with a serious expression.

"???"

"Simply put, I want you to act together with me."

"Oh~ I see. As long as we stay together, you can monitor me and stop me from doing anything bad, while also borrowing my strength to solve the vampire incident... That’s a very nice little scheme you’ve got there. But why should I help you?"

Elias narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t fond of working for free.

Besides, he was still somewhat unhappy about having been put in handcuffs... A single bite on Himeko’s neck was nowhere near enough to settle that score.

Gathering her courage, Himeko looked directly into his eyes and said.

"Of course I wouldn’t ask you to help for nothing. I also know that what I’m asking is somewhat... shameless. So once this incident is over, I’ll repay you as much as I possibly can."

"For example?"

"Uh, I’ll cover all your expenses while you’re sightseeing, introduce you to Sapphire City’s famous attractions, and..."

"Add one kiss and we have a deal."

Elias directly interrupted Himeko. The white-haired young man revealed a sly, foxlike smile as he stared at the girl’s tempting red lips, openly expressing his desire to find out what they tasted like.

Of course, that wasn’t actually the important part. The important part was that teasing this younger Himeko brought Elias tremendous amusement~

"...F-Fine."

Himeko’s face flushed bright red, but she gritted her teeth and agreed anyway.

If she could keep this nuclear-bomb-level dangerous individual by her side and even borrow his power to resolve the vampire incident, preventing any more victims from appearing in the city...

Then giving up her first kiss would be worth it!

"Yay~ Then let’s get investigating, my dear Watson."

"Yeah, yeah~ Sherlock."

...

After that, Elias and Himeko began walking through streets and alleys, searching everywhere for information and witnesses related to the vampire. However, Himeko quickly realized that something wasn’t quite right.

They really were investigating, that much was true.

But every so often, Elias would steer them off course.

Before she knew it, investigating the vampire had become a secondary objective, while the paper and pen Himeko had been using to record information had somehow turned into ice cream and milk tea.

Rather than investigating an incident, the two of them looked much more like they were on a date.

"H-How are you so practiced at this?"

"Uh... Let’s just say practice makes perfect."

Elias chuckled, though his eyes looked somewhat hollow.

He remembered how he had once been forced to go through more than thirty dates/trials every single day. As a result, now whenever there was a girl by his side, Elias would automatically enter Date A Live mode.

It could already be called a bodily instinct!

This was also why he hadn’t let Rosemary and Ai accompany him and had instead chosen to travel alone. And yet... Elias looked at Himeko with a complicated expression, feeling that perhaps he really was cursed with overwhelming romantic luck.

Incidentally, Himeko was quite popular in Sapphire City as a Valkyrie vigilante. Many residents knew this young, passionate, beautiful woman who nevertheless seemed perpetually destined to remain single.

Therefore, when Elias appeared beside Himeko and the residents saw the two of them dating/investigating together, quite a few acquaintances congratulated the red-haired young woman.

They couldn’t believe she had actually managed to find such a handsome boyfriend.

Even Himeko’s explanations that he wasn’t her boyfriend were useless.

After all, in many people’s eyes, explaining was the same as covering something up, covering something up meant it was true, and the truth was that Himeko had finally escaped singlehood.

Himeko: "...Elias, didn’t you say you could alter people’s consciousness? Show me now!"

Elias: "Hehe~ I refuse!"

Himeko: "..."

Then, when the two of them passed by a flower shop...

Another middle-aged woman Himeko knew congratulated her and strongly insisted that Elias buy Himeko a bouquet.

Flower Shop Auntie: "Young man, how can you go on a date with a girl without flowers? Come, Auntie will pick out some nice roses for you and even give you fifty percent off!"

Elias: "Auntie, you’re surprisingly nice. In that case, I’ll take every rose you have."

Flower Shop Auntie: "Wonderful! What generosity!"

Himeko: "One bouquet! One bouquet is enough!!"

Seeing the flower shop auntie happily preparing to package every rose in the store, Himeko hurried forward to stop her. It wasn’t because she was embarrassed, but because... she was afraid her wallet wouldn’t survive!

Don’t forget that according to their agreement, every expense Elias incurred in Sapphire City was currently being paid by Himeko.

So right now, this essentially amounted to Elias using Himeko’s own money to buy roses for Himeko. Rather than happiness, she mostly felt like crying.

She seriously suspected that he was getting revenge on her.

But in reality, Elias simply wanted to buy them.

In the end, under the flower shop auntie’s insistence, Himeko still bought a bouquet of red roses. She looked helplessly at the fiery crimson roses in her hands, torn between laughter and tears, before finally handing them to Elias.

Elias: "Hm? You don’t want them?"

Himeko: "...The flowers are for you."

Elias: "Thanks~" (*)

Receiving flowers from a girl for the first time in his life was quite a novel experience for Elias.

Although fiery crimson roses didn’t really suit him. Flowers this vivid red were ultimately most fitting for Himeko, or perhaps... a certain girl as crimson as blood.

Then, as though something had occurred to him, Elias lightly coughed several times to clear his throat before beginning to sing.

"On this endless journey~ crimson roses burn before my eyes. Beneath the cold, relentless rain~ who is calling out to me? I refused to give up on you, and that’s why I struggled so hard. At least this once, live in the way you choose... Your love is the most precious thing I have~ so please, live on bravely~"

Himeko stared blankly at the white-haired young man holding the crimson roses and singing before her. For a moment, she completely lost herself in the sight. Only long after the song had ended did she finally return to her senses and ask.

"...What song was that?"

"Nightglow. It’s your character song, Himeko. Since you gave me roses, naturally I had to give you something in return. That’s only proper for a gentleman, isn’t it?"

"What the heck is a character song? Still... thank you, Elias. That song really was beautiful."

Himeko spoke sincerely, suddenly feeling that the roses had been worth every penny.

Of course, that was only natural.

After all, Elias possessed a heavenly singing voice on the same level as Eden’s. Their voices were worthy of being called symbols of an era, superstars of civilization. In the Previous Era, they had been idols adored by the entire world.